Solar technology – Building two Scheffler mirrors

Growing woods, and a hob perspective for young people from the streets of Kitale

A Seminar on Solar Energy

Most families in Kitale still cook with firewood. In times of deforestation the distances that women and children have to walk to collect firewood become longer and longer. In order to save the trees we want to promote different ways of cooking, which means mainly cooking with solar energy.

In Tamera, I learned about the use of a Scheffler Mirror: a 10 sqm big metal reflector with a fixfocus. The construction follows the daily way of the sun automatically and when the sun shines it can heat big pots of food in a no time. The Scheffler mirror can be constructed in small workshops and needs simple materials. It is ideal to use it in schools, children´s homes and everywhere where big amounts of food have to be cooked. A Scheffler mirror can be also used for bakeries.

Alec Gagneux from Switzerland has agreed on coming to Kitale and teach our new team of young technicians how to build a Scheffler mirror. He will give an eight weeks seminar in which we will build two Scheffler mirrors: One for the community kitchen in the Amani garden and one for the bakery of the women´s initiative Maili Saba. Maili Saba has received the GEN Excellency Award 2012 for their permaculture garden and their bakery where the women produce bread from sweet potato flour. The price money of 1.500 Euros builds the base for the the fundings for manifesting this plan.

All in all – including travel costs and material – we will need around 10.000 Euros – from which we have already 1.500 Euros!

If you support this project you also support a number of young men and women finding a job perspective – people who had to live from day to day´s little incomes on the streets. We are very positive that solar energy is the energy of the future, that the market for solar cookers will grow and the knowledge how to build them will give them a safe future profession.
Alec Gagneux plans to come in the beginning of 2013.

Please sponsor a part of our first Scheffler mirrors, here you learn how to send us the money.